novelraw Chapter 339: Three Human Survivors
Chapter 339: Three Human Survivors
Originally, Alexander should have been thrilled about the appearance of such things. After all, they could be directly used as ghost crystals, and their numbers were astonishingly large—enough to leave pockmarked traces everywhere.
If he could acquire these ghost crystals in large quantities, the strength of the ghosts in the Horror World would skyrocket. No matter how you looked at it, this was a win for Alexander.
However, the issue was that these things had emerged from the Mist and appeared in the real world. Being pure clusters of ghost crystals, they were actually not very powerful in combat; their speed and strength were slightly inferior to a real Ghost Emperor.
But the point was, who knew how many of these things existed?
Hum! Hum! Buzz!
Just as Alexander was about to continue searching other vehicles to see if more of these things were present, a faint sound of flapping wings came to his ears again.
This time, it was coming from a distance. His eyes brightened as he activated his Ghostly Piercing Vision, focusing on the direction the sound came from.
While Ghostly Piercing Vision couldn’t completely negate the obstruction of the Mist, it significantly enhanced his vision within it.
Looking through the dense fog, what Alexander saw was a dark cloud—a looming, endless mass composed of black beetles. One look was enough to send chills down his spine.
He darted into a nearby shop, closed the door behind him, and immediately condensed his Ghost Energy to the extreme. White mist encircled him, forming a tangible protective layer, blocking any escape of his presence.
At that moment, a thundering buzz filled the sky. A vast swarm of dark shapes flew overhead, taking a full ten minutes or more to finally vanish from above. Alexander’s face was as grim as could be.
He didn’t understand how these black beetles, made purely of Ghost Energy, could freely move about within the forbidden Mist.
Perhaps it was their highly concentrated Ghost Energy that resisted the Mist’s corrosive effects, but that was clearly not something easily replicated. Even Ghost Saints or Ghost Honors might not reach the beetles’ level of Ghost Energy concentration.
Or perhaps these beetles had some special characteristic that Alexander had yet to discover. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was: could any living humans still exist in the real world after the rampage of these terrifying beetles?
Even Chosen Ones of soldier-level would be like ants before these fearsome creatures.
Although the only true friends he had in this world were Lucy and the people in the cemetery, this was still the world where he had lived for five years!
Stepping out of the shop once more, Alexander cautiously surveyed his surroundings. The ground, once swarming with beetles, seemed unchanged. Yet, Alexander’s keen senses noticed that on a distant street and tree branches, a few dark beetles were sporadically perched.
With the Underworld Sword in hand, Alexander briskly walked toward one of the beetles. Hearing Alexander approach, the beetle on the ground suddenly spread its wings and darted towards him.
"Prince-level!"
The Ghost Energy emanating from the beetle was noticeably weaker, only reaching a Prince-level potency. Moreover, something was clearly wrong with it; not only was its speed far inferior to that of the Ghost Prince, but its body was also awkwardly uncoordinated.
It was charging straight for Alexander, but then veered off course midway. Struggling to flap its wings, it readjusted its direction and lunged at Alexander again.
This time, Alexander didn’t draw his sword. Instead, he reached out and grabbed the beetle’s body. The beetle wriggled violently but to no avail. It twisted its head and bit Alexander’s finger.
Shockingly, his body, which possessed the resilience of an Inheritance Ghost Emperor, felt as frail as tofu. The beetle’s sharp teeth left a wound, and blood began to trickle out.
"Such sharp teeth!"
Alexander’s expression darkened further. Without hesitation, he twisted off the beetle’s head and tossed its carcass into his mouth. Surge after surge of Ghost Energy flowed from his body, melding into his flesh and mending his wounded finger.
However, unlike the pure Ghost Energy he had before, this time it contained a strong "forbidden" power.
"These beetles, were they abandoned by their companions because they’re tainted by the ’forbidden’? The ’forbidden’ power within this beetle is even purer and greater than that in a hell warrior. It’s almost... usable directly as a Ghost Pill," Alexander mumbled to himself, his eyes gradually lighting up.
He had given up on human in the real world. However, if he could find enough of these forsaken beetles, perhaps he could obtain a sufficient number of Ghost Pills.
The thought ignited a fiery gaze as he looked at the remaining dark beetles.
His figure darted like lightning toward another beetle. This one was even more pathetic; its Ghost Energy was only at General-level, but its body bore a denser forbidden power, visible as milky white spots.
With a stomp, Alexander crushed the beetle. Thanks to his "Ghost Chef" ability, the beetle’s body disintegrated instantly, and its concentrated Ghost Energy coalesced into dozens of Ghost Pills right before him.
With a wave of his hand, he stored the Ghost Pills in his storage ring and swiftly moved to the next beetle. After scouring the nearby streets for quite some time, he only found about a dozen discarded beetles. Yet, those few beetles yielded him thousands of Ghost Pills—a harvest that lifted his spirits somewhat.
However, at that moment, Alexander’s gaze sharply turned toward the end of the street. Emerging from the mist were three figures.
Living humans!
Actual living humans!
Two men and a woman, all of them human.
However, astonishingly, all three emanated significant fluctuations of Ghost Energy.
One of the men, a burly figure, exuded energy vibrations akin to that of a Ghost Prince. The other man and the woman were on the level of Ghost Kings.
The fact that they could walk within the Mist without concealing their Ghost Energy suggested that they also possessed forbidden powers.
Alexander slightly furrowed his brow, quickly piecing together the situation.
Clearly, in the real world, there were no Instances, no systems, and no rewards. They must have gained these abilities through those abandoned black beetles.
This actually relieved Alexander a bit. At least it proved that the real world had not completely turned into a wasteland of death.
While these abandoned black beetles weren’t abundant, they were just the ones Alexander encountered today.
If the Mist truly enveloped the entire globe, such occurrences would be far from rare.
Numerous waves of black beetles would pass by, and even if many of the abandoned beetles possessed commendable fighting prowess, there were plenty that simply lay paralyzed on the ground. Anyone who stumbled upon these beetles could use them to acquire Ghost Energy or even forbidden powers.
The only problem was, these people didn’t have the Ghost skills. According to the experience of past Chosen Ones, without achieving sufficient bodily strength, even consuming a Ghost Crystal would only allow them to absorb a minimal portion of its power.
So how did they attain their current strength?
However, for Alexander, this was undoubtedly excellent news.
Not just because Lucy might also be one of the survivors, but more importantly, it meant that humanity on Earth had not been utterly eradicated.
Horror World was still Horror World; no matter how real or emotionally rich it seemed.
After all, it belonged to the ghosts, who didn’t possess the ability to reproduce. Even if they had eternal life, without reality, they would eventually decline.
Discovering these three survivors indicated that there were likely many more in the real world.
The elation of not having to face a barren, lifeless world was immense.
Alexander approached them immediately. Besides the joy, numerous questions filled his heart, needing these three to provide answers.